Notes

Summary:

The Seton Papers are narrow in focus although they cover a long time span (1812-1873). The majority of the documents are of a legal nature, related to land ownership, power of attorney, and debt. Most deal with the operation of Seton's plantation and mill. Beyond this, items of interest in the papers include: Seton's will, documents dealing specifically with the city of Fernandina, and limited correspondence with Amelia Island planter Zephaniah Kingsley, free black Henry McQueen, and Florida territorial representative Joseph M. White.

Biographical:

Charles Seton (1776-1836) was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Andrew and Margaret Seton. The Seton's were a prominent family of Scottish descent that fled from Long Island to Brooklyn at the onset of the American Revolution. Charles traveled through Europe and to the coast of Africa at an early age before settling into the lumbering business in Florida, where most of his family resided following the conclusion of the American Revolution. Charles moved to Florida around 1811 while the area was still under Spanish rule. In 1812 he married Matilda Sibbald and the couple had two children, George and Margaret Seton. The Setons lived at Fernandina, a town at the Georgia-Florida border, in an area wrought with tension between the Americans and the Spanish until the transfer of Florida from Spain in 1821.

Biographical:

Seton established a plantation (George Plantation) and a saw mill near Fernandina. In 1813, he fought in a skirmish against raiders from Georgia, part of hostilities that broke out in the War of 1812, and was wounded in the chest. He would carry the ball in his chest until his death in 1836, dying from complications from the gunshot wound. In 1820 he became the first American mayor of Fernandina. His son George Seton would later fight in the Confederate Army and settle in Maryland, while his daughter Margaret would remain in Florida and marry Lewis Fleming, member of another prominent Florida family.